


Of Pleasant Dreams and Vicious Reality

by Chandler_Bing



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-10-06
Updated: 2015-12-12
Packaged: 2018-04-25 01:48:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,517
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4941967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chandler_Bing/pseuds/Chandler_Bing
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Modern-ish AU in which Korra and Asami cross paths in a hotel they both live in.</p><p>Rewrite of my discontinued story  'Double Helix' {which is now deleted}<br/>ON HIATUS.  Until i get motivated enough to finish</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hotel Double Helix

**Author's Note:**

> If you read Double Helix, this chapter is basically a combination of the first 2 chapters. I've added a few things that will come up later.

“Ugh.” The half sigh half groan slipped from between my lips without me really noticing.  Being responsible for so much of a business at such a young age was starting to take its toll.  Though an older person probably wouldn’t be any less stressed or tired. “No wonder my father went gray so early.” I thought aloud.

I made my way back to Seattle from New York this afternoon. The sunny weather I’d left behind in the middle of July was gone.  It was the end of August now and it wasn’t raining at the moment but the pavement was wet beneath my feet.  I could hear the splash of little puddles with every step I took.   I could feel the cold weather in the bones that I had just broken a few weeks prior.  You’d think with my level of education I’d make better decisions that walking the streets of an unfamiliar and busy city while texting.  Taxis are pretty ruthless. 

Despite my injuries I did my best to look good for work. I wore my usual business skirt, button up, and blazer.  But I only really had one good arm so my wavy hair fell over my shoulders as opposed to the usually slicked back ballerina bun that I like to sport.

I finally made it to the familiar 25-story building; my pride and joy, my place of business and my home.  The first hotel I took control of before my grandmother passed and left the rest to me. Double Helix is what I named it, the representation of a dream that died when I chose to take on the Sato family business.

“Glad to see the place is still standing.” I said loud enough for anyone in the vicinity to hear.  Most of the staff turned and was happy to see me, but their happiness turned to worry as they glanced at my casted arm and bandaged face.  “It’s not that bad.” I insisted.  “Now back to work.  Show me why you’re all so deserving of your end of the year bonus. I might be feeling generous this year.”

This of course caused them to get right back to their jobs with smiles on their faces.  I made my way to the hotel restaurant, which doesn’t have a clever name. ‘Hotel Restaurant’ seemed almost silly. I went straight to the kitchen window to find the staff dancing to The Ramones.  Typical.

“Having fun, Bolin?” I called out to the boy erratically shaking his hips while slicing vegetables.

“Asami?! Is that you?!” He said, not looking up from his task.

“In the flesh.”

“Hold on let me finish this pepper and I’ll be right out.” He said.

“Don’t chop off any more fingers please.”

“I won’t! Notice I didn’t even look up.  And I didn’t chop off a finger I just stabbed my hand a little.”

“That doesn’t sound any better.” I retorted.

“You say tomato I say it wasn’t that bad.”

I just shook my head and laughed, he’s just as goofy as I remember.

“Why do you look like you went to battle with Optimus Prime?”

I hadn’t even noticed when he walked out. “You say tomato I say it wasn’t that bad.”  I mimicked his words from moments ago.

“Asami...”

“It wasn’t so much a transformer as it was a Taxi...”

“You got hit by a car?”

“Texting and walking.  Not such a good idea.”

“What am I going to do with you?” Bolin groaned. “I was going to give you a big bear hug but you’re all fragile.”

“I’m fine.  So how was everything while I was gone?”

“Good. But what was with that jack ass you had to replace you?”

My eyebrows shot up at hearing this.  “Was Tom-Tom really that bad?”

“Uhhh yeah.” Bolin said sarcastically. “He was mean to the staff and to the guests.  He didn’t know what he was doing and couldn’t even catch on when we would tell him. Where did you find him?”

“He’s FireLord Zuko’s brother in-law.  I was doing him a favor because he and my father were friends.”

“FireLord...why do we even have one of those anymore?  It isn’t like there’s any fire to lord over since bending kind of disappeared.”

“You’re a bender.”

“Earth slash lava bender.  Not fire.”

“My point is that bending isn’t completely gone.”

“There are probably about 6,000 benders in existence now…maybe less.”

 

6,000 sounded big but in the grand scheme of things it was practically zero. There were billions of people on the planet and this was all we had left.  It was a topic that tended to make Bolin sad.  He was essentially a dying breed.

“Why don’t I get you some food?”  He said, changing the subject.  “If I know you, I know you haven’t eaten today”

Couldn’t argue with that so I checked in with the host, Jay, and he said I could sit where I wanted.  So I sat under my favorite window.  There were only 3 occupants in the restaurant.  Me, a man in green robes, and a girl wearing a light blue shirt and dark blue sweat pants.  It was quiet today. I thought about all the work that I had to catch up on before I could retire for the day.  Then I remembered I left my luggage and brief case in the car and internally wept at having to go back outside to get it all.   A salad was suddenly placed in front of me and I noticed the cherry tomatoes were arranged into a smiley face.

“How is everything, Korra? I trust it’s to your liking?” Jay asked the other woman in the restaurant.  It was a little unprofessional not to call her “Ms.” But it’s possible she told him not to.

“Actually, my chicken is a bit raw.  Is it possible to get something else?  I’ve lost my taste for this.”

“My biggest apologies.  Would you care for the salmon?  Extra rice?” He asked playfully.

“That sounds amazing.  You know me so well.”

Okay. Obviously they know each other. Maybe she won’t sue us. I waved my hand to the gray haired man before he turned away from me and he immediately walked over to me looking nervous as ever. 

“Yes, Ms. Sato?”

I just glared, waiting for an explanation.

“This hasn’t happened before.  And Korra is a nice woman, she won’t take action against the hotel.”

“How do you know her?”

“She’s been living here for a month.  Comes in to eat 2 or 3 times a day.”

“I see.” I paused. “Her meal is on the house.  See to it that her room is discounted for 3 nights.”

“Yes Ma’am.”

I sighed and touched my fingers to my forehead.  Back 10 minutes and I’m already fixing an issue. I got up from my table, salad long forgotten, and approached the woman a few tables ahead of me. Her head was buried in a book, and she seemed to be softly giggling at whatever she was reading.

“Um, excuse me, miss.” I said quietly. When she looked up I almost forgot what I wanted to say, her blue eyes were so piercing. “I hate to disturb you. I’m Ms. Sato.  I’m the manager, and I wanted to formally apologize about your food.  The salmon is on the house.”

“Oh it’s no problem.  I’m sure they weren’t trying to kill me...though I can’t say the same for you. You look pretty banged up.”

“Yeah.” I giggle awkwardly. “Girl vs. car...the car won.”

“Going up against a vehicle, you’ve got guts.”

“Believe me, it wasn’t intentional.”  I laughed awkwardly.

“Ms. Sato.  I have your usual pasta.” Jay said from behind me.  I involuntarily jumped a little.

“Thanks.” I said taking the plate out of his hands.

“Korra, I’ll be right back with your salmon.”

“Thanks, Jay.  So Ms. Sato would you like to sit with me?  I couldn’t help but notice both of us were all alone.”

“Oh...I couldn’t.  That would be...” inappropriate. Unprofessional. Over the line.

“Come on.  I could use the company.”

“I guess that would be ok.”

I sat down and waited for Korra to get her food before I started eating. Boy could she eat. She finished all of her food before I got half way through mine, it was pretty impressive.

“Still hungry?” I teased.  This caused a blush to rise to those dark cheeks.  I could barely see it but it was definitely there.

“Yeah a little.” Korea whispered.

“Here.” I pushed my plate towards her.

“No. I can’t take your food.”

“Please. I’m full and I never eat leftovers. It would just be a waste.”

“Ok...Thanks.” She said and dug in without another word.

“Word on the street is you’ve been living here for a month. What brings you here?”

“A nasty breakup.”

“Oh...sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t be.  It’s better that it’s over. I see that now.”

“That’s wise of you.”

She simply shrugged.  “So what’s a young girl like you doing running a place like this?”

“What makes you think I’m so young?”

“I’d wager you’re no older than me.”

“Oh? And how old are you, Miss Korra?”

“24 and a half.”

“Hm...24 and three quarters.  You were wrong.”

“Psh. Semantics.  I was still right. You are young.”

“I suppose so.”

“So how’d you get this job?”

“Lots of luck.” I answered vaguely.  She didn’t really need to know that I actually inherited the place and 10 others just like it (but with different names) that happened to be on the east coast. I only manage this place because I like doing it.  It’s a fun job.

“Fair enough.”

“What do you do?”

“I’m a personal trainer.”

“Ahhh. So that’s why you’re so buff.”

Korra blushed again and tried covering her arms with her hands. “No, It’s not a bad thing. I think you look really good. I wish I had the time and will power to work for a body like yours...you have abs don’t you?”

The dark skinned girl blushed again and looked away. “I take that as a yes.”

“You know I could train you...if you wanted.  You know after your bones heal.”

“Are you calling me fat?”

“What! No! I would never; I mean you aren’t at all. You just said that you...ugh.”  Korra grunted and buried her face in her hands. “I always manage to put my foot in my mouth.”

I burst into a fit of laughter at the disheveled mess I’d made of the brunette sitting in front of me.  “I was only joking.  Maybe I’ll take you up on your offer some day.”

“Oh, you are terrible.” Korra said through her teeth, she was trying not to laugh with me but she was failing miserably. 

“I’m sorry.  I saw an opportunity and I took it.”

“Goodness, you’re worse than Tom-Tom.”

“Seriously? He was that bad?! This is the second time today I’m hearing about him.”

“He was an ass.  I can’t believe you let that old fart manage your hotel.  How old was he anyway?”

“Tom was only 77...” I started and when Korra gave me an unamused look I continued. “He’s the firelord’s brother-in-law, I only hired him as a favor.”

“What? That guy was Tom the great martial artist of the fire nation?”

“You know who he his?”

“Of course.  He’s a legendary fighter. Not as legendary as his sister though. That is one scary lady.”

“So you know them?”

“Uh...” Korra stuttered. “N-no.  I just know them by reputation really.”

“Alright.” I looked at my watch and saw that I’d been talking to Korra for over an hour. “I hate to cut this short but I’ve gotta go to my office and get some work done.”

“Right. Sorry to hold you up.”

“No need to apologize.  It was nice meeting you, Korra.”

“You too, Ms. Sato.”

“Asami.” I corrected as I started to make my exit.  My insides were screaming.  I would meet a cute girl the one day I look I got attacked by ninjas in the dark of night.

“Asami.” Korra echoed back soft enough that I almost couldn’t hear it.

 

Jay was grinning at me mischievously as I walked towards him.

“What?”

“You and Korra seemed to hit it off.”

“...Yes. You were right. She’s a nice woman.”

“Are you two going to have lunch again?”

“I hope so.”  I said passively. I held my composure until I was where no one could see the idiotic grin that was sure to break out on my face.


	2. Shots and Cake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra meets Asami's friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's 10:55...Still Monday :D

I sit at the hotel’s front desk doing absolutely nothing.  According to my advisors: One day a week I have to be out front in the depths of it all, and I’ve chosen Wednesday.  It’s always relatively dead because people don’t really travel in the middle of the week. 

Doing nothing was a little boring but having the job that I have it’s nice to get a break once a week. 

It had been 11 days since Korra and I had lunch together.  Since then I’ve only seen her in passing, most of the time I was the one who saw her from afar.  I tried to look her up in the guest log on the computer (thankful I had gotten my cast taken off so I could properly type) but there were a few other Korras staying at the Double Helix.  All of their names were spelled differently. Cora, Korra, and, Korah.  She’s got blue eyes, dark skin, and wears blue all the time so maybe she’s water tribe.  They have a fascination with the letter K, so ruling out Cora may be a safe bet.  I wanted to send the darker girl a basket of goods to further apologize for the kitchen staff nearly killing her.

In the middle of my search I could see someone walk in front of me and I was forced to actually do my job.  When I looked up I was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar pair of blue eyes.

“Korra.  Hi!” I said awkwardly

“Asami, good to see you.  You got your cast off.”

“Yeah, yesterday.  It’s great to have my arm back, I can finally put my face on like I like.”

“I can see that.  The up-do, the business clothes, the sharp makeup.  You’re a little intimidating.”

“Intimidating?”

“Oh yeah.  You definitely give off the “I’m totally professional but will bite your head off if you cross me” vibe going on.”

“Is that a good thing?”

“It’s a great thing!  We need more strong, intelligent women in this world.”

“Thank you.” I blushed. “So how’s your stay? is everything ok?”

“Now that you mention it, I do have a little bone to pick with you.”

 “Ok… what is it?”

“What’s this business about me being on your tab?”

“Oh, that?” I started “It’s exactly what it sounds like. You’re a regular guest that I’ve heard great things about. Everyone here loves you.  Whenever you eat here from now on your food is on me.”

“This is about the chicken isn’t it? I really don’t need you to give me free food.”

“It’s about the chicken.  If you were an ordinary guest I would have just given you that one meal free.  But everyone that works here is quite fond of you and as of right now you aren’t suing me, so I owe you one.”

“And I can’t change your mind?”

“You could try but I’m sticking to my guns.”

“Bolin was right, you are stubborn.”

“You know Bolin?”

“Yeah, he’s a pretty cool guy.  We bonded over bending.”

“You’re a bender?!”

“Yes.” Korra laughed. “Water bender.”

“That’s so cool! I’ve seen earth and lava from Bo, but I’ve never seen water bending in action.”

“Well I guess I’ll have to give you a demonstration some time.”

“I’d love that.  Bo and I are actually going sparring this weekend.  You could come watch if you want?”

“That would be great.  How long have you two been friends?”

“Since I started staying here.  He was one of the first people to be friendly.”

“That sounds like him.”

“We’ve been sparring a lot to keep our bending sharp.  He just invited me to hang out with his friends, I don’t know if I want to go though.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. I’m just a little hesitant.”

“Well, as his best friend I can vouch for him.  Whatever he wants to do will be fun and you’ll be in great company.  There’s never a dull moment with him. Also, all of his friends are my friends too.  All great people, you should go.”

“Will you be there?”

“Since I haven’t heard about this little get together, probably not.”

“Oh...awkward.” Korra said

“Don’t worry about it. If it’s on a week day I’d probably decline. Bo knows when he can and can’t get me out of the house.”

“Alright.  I don’t want to cause any tension.”

“Really, it’s fine.  This is how we operate.”

“Ok.  Well I have to go change really quick: I’m covering a kick boxing class today.”

“Kick boxing, personal trainer, water bending. Could you be any cooler?!”

Korra laughed and headed in the direction of the elevators.  “Bye Asami.”

“Bye Korra.”

.

.

.

“It’s just dinner.”

“Nope.”

“Come on, Asami.  Don’t be lame.”

“Wanting a nice quiet night in isn’t lame.”

“But it’s your birthday.  You only turn 25 once.”

“Yes, and I’d love to spend it with my ass firmly planted on my couch with popcorn and bad romcoms.”

“But it’s Saturday!”

“Exactly. It’s the weekend, and I’m tired.”

“It’s only 6:30, and it’s Saturday, and it’s your fucking birthday!”

“Yes on all accounts.”

“You’re coming out with me, Sato.  I’m going home to change, I’ll pick you up in 2 hours.”

“You won’t let up on this will you?”

“Not a chance.  Get changed and try not to look like a scary boss lady.”

“Fine Fine.  But you better have gotten me a good present.”

 

I waited an hour to get up and shower.  I put on some jeans and a simple red blouse: I pulled my hair into a lose ponytail that lay on the back of my neck.  I put makeup on, as usual, but kept it light.  Just focused on accentuating my eyes and coloring my lips.  The hour came and went much too soon and I heard a knock on my door.  Bolin waltzed in 3 seconds later.

“When I’m home you should let me open the door for you.” I groaned.

“Then why’d you give me a key? I knocked to warn you I was coming in.”

“Hopeless.” I sighed. “Come on, lets get this over with.”

“Hey, you mind driving?” the shorter boy asked enthusiastically.

“You really need to get a car.” I said as I grabbed my keys and headed out the door.

“I will when my boss gives me a raise.” He retorted

“You make good money.  It isn’t my fault you blow it all on food and fancy jackets.”

We made it to the parking lot, and we got in my little Toyota.

“Can’t we take the fancy car?”

“Nope.” I replied simply. “I only drive the fancy car when I need to impress someone or when I feel like a big shot.”

“It’s your birthday.”

“You know. You keep mentioning that but it isn’t changing how I feel.”

“You’re so difficult.”

“And you love it.” I smiled. “So where are we going?”

Dave and Buster’s.  That’s where we were going.  The child inside of me was extremely happy to be here.  It’s Chuck. E. Cheese for adults, how could it not make you happy?

“Name’s Bolin, I called in earlier.”  My friend said to the hostess.

“Right this way, sir.” The young woman said and led us to the back of the restaurant section.

“SURPRISE!” came from all directions, and it scared the crap out of me.  Familiar faces suddenly surrounded me and I was being bombarded with hugs.  All of the friends I hadn’t seen in over 2 months as well as their plus ones was here.  I made a mental note to thank Bolin for doing this for me.

“Hey, birthday girl.” I heard from behind me.  I turned and burst in the biggest grin.

“Mako!” I shouted and threw my arms around him. “I’ve missed you, where the hell have you been?”

“Me?!” He laughed. “You’re the one that was away on business.”

“I guess that’s true.  How long has this been planned?”

“I had the idea a while back but we actually called everyone about a month ago to make sure no one would miss it.”

“You helped plan this?”

“Of course.  Do you think the goofball over there could handle all of this by himself?” The taller boy gestured behind him to where Bolin was doing some kind of dance while talking to...Korra?

“Uh, no he couldn’t.” I answered. “Would you excuse me for a minute?”

I didn’t bother wait for a response.  My feet carried me to the blue eyed girl before I could really think about what I was doing.

“So is this the big get together?” I asked out of the blue.  Korra blushed and ran a hand through her long brown hair.

“Oh hey. I didn’t know it was a birthday party.  Let alone your birthday party.  I wouldn’t have said anything to you about it...and maybe I wouldn’t have come. Um, happy birthday by the way.”

“Thanks, I’m glad you’re here.”

“Really?”

“Really. I can now personally ensure that you’ll have a good time.”

“So I’m not intruding?”

“Look, you’ve been friends with Bo for over a month now right?”

She nodded slowly.

“Ok. Well his friends are my friends.  You’re more than welcome to be here.  And you have two familiar faces here, so it won’t be too awkward for you.”

“Um yeah.  Thanks.”

“So who have you met?”

“Just Mako.”

“Did he hit on you?”

“What? No!”

“Are you sure? He’s a little shameless when it comes to women, and you’re definitely his type.”

“Me? Seriously?”

“Oh yeah. Beautiful, nice body, sweet, self sufficient.”

“If that’s the case he must hit on you all the time.”

“That was pretty smooth.” I laughed. “But no. He doesn’t.  Well he used to ask me out all the time when we were still kids, but when he figured out he wasn’t my type he stopped.”

“He’s not your type? But he’s so...good looking.”

“Oh? You think so?  Should I put in a good word for you?”

Korra blushed yet again and fumbled over some words before finally getting her sentence out.

“I-no. No,I think I’m done with guys for now.”

“Guys lets eat!” Bolin yelled over the crowd of chattering people.  I led Korra to the end of one of our designated tables and sat next to her so we could continue talking while we ordered and got our food.

“So you’re done with guys?  Does this have anything to do with the relationship you just got out of?”

“...Maybe.”

I raised my eyebrows and waited for her to confirm what I already knew to be true.

“Okay yes.  It has a lot to do with that.”

“He must have really hurt you.  What happened? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“I caught him cheating.  I mean literally in the act, in our bed, on the sheets I brought from my old apartment.  We had a huge fight, and he somehow blamed me.  He kicked me out and kept my polar bear dog.”

“Polar Bear Dog?! Where did you get one of those!”

“I found her when she was just a pup, half dead in the snow.  This was back when I was 17, I was coming home from school and I saw her lying there shivering and so skinny her bones were showing through her skin.  No sign of her parents or any siblings.  I looked hard for them. There was no way I could leave her there, she was only a 30 pound puppy: So I took her in and nursed her back to health.  We’ve been attached at the hip ever since.”

“That’s the cutest story I’ve ever heard.  What’s her name?”

“Naga.  I really miss her.”

“I’m so sorry.  And I didn’t mean to take away from your story, it’s just polar bear dogs are so rare.”

“No it’s alright.  To me that was the most important part.  I’m better off without the guy, I can see that now.”

Korra and I talked until our food came.  Honestly she did most of the talking.  I just wanted to know more about her so I kept asking questions.  She presents herself like she isn’t interesting but that’s the furthest thing from the truth.

Everyone finished eating and I introduced Korra to Mako and Bolin’s step brothers, Wing and Wei. Next was Iroh, Zhu Li, Jin, Sasuke, and Sara.  Opal was missing but she was out of the country.  Everyone was chatty and welcoming, except Sasuke.  But he was a typical emo heart throb, you couldn’t take his attitude personal.

Finally, it was game time, so everyone split up and undoubtedly spent more money than they set out to when they came.  I was shooting basketballs with Mako, and failing miserably, he on the other hand hadn’t missed a basket.

“So Korra.” He started. “She’s hot.”

“Yep.”

“I was flirting with her, but I don’t think she noticed.”

“I was right then.  You were hitting on her.”

“Did she say something?”  He asked worriedly

“No.  She had no idea.”

“So do you think I have a chance? Or does she play for your team?”

“My team?”

“Yeah. The lezzy squad.”

I frowned and punched the taller boy in the arm. “Don’t call us that.”

“Whatever, just answer the question.”

“Well she just broke up with her boyfriend. So I’m guessing she’s on the ‘hetero squad.’  You never know though.  She could swing both ways.”

“Alright, well find out for me.  If she swings both ways, I’ll back off.”

“What?”

“You need to start dating again.”

“Oh, so you’re letting me have this one?”

“Exactly.” Mako smiled.

“You’re so full of yourself.”

“No.  Just confident.” He corrected

“Whatever you want to call it.”

 

After we played games, everyone gathered at the bar for drinks and cake; the worlds best combination.  Everyone took shots until they were red in the face and took cabs home.  Soon the only ones left were Mako, who was holding my drunk form upright: and Bolin and Korra who decided to start bending inside the bar. Bo bent a piece of concrete out of the floor and Korra stole the water out of someone’s pitcher and started throwing ice shards every which way.  Neither of them could hold their liquor.

 

“Excuse me miss.” A young lady timidly approached me and Mako. “I’m going to have to ask you and your friends to leave.  They’re destroying my foundation.”

“I am so so sorry.” I slurred. I reached into my purse and pulled a business card out to hand to the woman.  “I’ll pay for the damages.  Please call me when I’m sober.” I laughed.  It was more of a snorting chuckle really. 

Mako and I gathered Bolin and Korra.  Since Korra was going where I was going I decided that we could just share a cab, and the darker girl insisted on paying since it was my birthday and she didn’t know to bring me a present.  I walked Korra to her room and was about to bid her goodnight when I realized I didn’t have my purse…or my keys…or my phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So for a little clarification lets talk about Korra! In the first chapter she gets shy about her body and how muscular she is when Asami says that she's 'so buff'. In the Avatar universe our dear Korra would promptly flex her arms and say "hell fucking yeah, I am!". However this is an alternate universe where bending is an endangered art. There are few people who can do it and few who understand what it takes to be great at it. And that includes being strong mentally and physically. In this universe people don't understand what it means to be a bender because there's no one to educate them about it and there's no way they can really witness it because of how rare it is.
> 
> That being said, Korra (like Bolin) feels sad, abnormal, and alone in a world where her gift isn't understood like it used to be. It's an extension of herself that's withering away, and could easily cease to exist in a few generations. Her body is attached to her ability as a fighter and a bender, so when someone points it out it's like they're pointing out the part of her that's 'abnormal'.


	3. Mrs. Sato

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Korra and Asami spend a little time together.

My back hurt...horribly.  I couldn’t figure out why until I remembered that I was on a couch.  The worst couch in the world.  The smell of something sweet tickled my nose and I heard paper rustling.  I cracked an eye open and took in the surroundings of the basic hotel room.  Korra was sitting at the small desk with a to-go coffee cup in her left hand and a news paper in her right.  Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun on top of her head, and she wore yoga pants and a baggy sweatshirt. Glasses. I internally smiled.  I hadn’t seen those before; they were so cute.

I stretched my legs out and sat up.  Sensing my movement, Korra turned to face me completely and beamed a huge smile.

“Good morning, sleepyhead.”

“Mmm.  Morning.  How long have you been awake?”

“A little over an hour.”

“Oh.  Why didn’t you wake me?”

“Because you always look so tired.  I thought you needed some rest.”

“Always?  When have you seen me?”

“I see you in passing all the time.   You’re always running around with papers in your hand, or you’re on the phone, or you’re telling someone what to do, or you’re dealing with a ridiculous guest...”

I guess I wasn’t paying as much attention as I thought.

“Well thanks.  For letting me sleep in.  What time is it?”

“It’s about 10:30.  Did you sleep ok?”

“I’ve had better nights, but it was fine.”

“You could’ve had the bed.” Korra stated. We had a little disagreement about who would sleep on the couch and I reasoned that I was the one crashing with her and it wouldn’t be right to take her bed.

“I didn’t want it.”

“You are so stubborn.”

“I know.  I can’t help it, and I don’t really want to.”

The darker girl rolled her eyes and got out of her chair, moving to the makeshift kitchen.

“I went out earlier and I got you a hot chocolate.  Is that ok?”

“I haven’t had that in ages.  Sounds good.” I smiled.

Korra brought the white to-go cup to me and I was surprised to find that it was piping hot.  “Did you just go out?”

“I got back 10 minutes ago, why?”

“It’s still hot.” I said as I put the lid to my lips: it was good.

“They’ve got good cups.” she said plainly.

“Mind if I use your phone again?  I want to call Bolin and see if he’s up and then contact the taxi company to see if they have my stuff.”

“Sure, no problem.  I’m going to take a quick shower.”  The blue eyed girl tossed her blackberry towards me and retreated into the bedroom area.  I still couldn’t believe she had this 8-year-old phone. 

Bolin was first on my list: he had a spare key to my place.  The phone rung 8 times before I heard a muffled ‘hello’ come through.

“Good! You’re awake.”

“Mhm.  Korra?”

“No, it’s Asami. You still have the extra set of keys to my place, right?”

“Of course.”

“Great.  I need them.  I left all my stuff in the cab last night and I was locked out.”

“What?  Why didn’t you call me then?”

“I did.  You didn’t answer, and neither did Mako.”

“So what’d you do? Stay in a room at Double Helix?”

“Yeah, I stayed with Korra.”

“What do you mean ‘stayed with Korra’? Did you two...”

“No! Of course not.  I was with her when I realized I didn’t have anything and she kindly offered her couch to me.”

“Oh…Well you guys seemed so close last night, it wouldn’t have surprised me if you did bump uglies.”

“That makes it sound so dirty.” I scrunched my nose.

“It is dirty.  That’s why they say ‘do the dirty’ or ‘do the nasty’”

“Ok, anyway.  I’m coming to your apartment, I’ll be there within the hour.”

“Ok.  I’ll try to stay awake long enough to let you in.”

We hung up and I dialed the cab company.  The driver found my stuff when he got back to HQ and apparently my belongings were delivered to the address listed on my license early this morning.

“Just what I needed.” I groaned as I hung up the phone.

“Did you say something?” Korra shouted from within her room.  That was pretty quick, I thought to myself.

“Just talking to myself.” I shouted back.

“Should I be concerned?” she asked as she made her way back into the front part of the room.  She was wearing sweatpants and a long sleeved shirt (no glasses, sadly).  I wondered why she always kept her arms covered.

“Ask me again in 12 hours.” I smiled and finished the last of my hot chocolate.

“Did you find your stuff?”

“Yep.  They dropped it all off at my mother’s.”

“Well that’s good!” she cheered. “Right?”

“Could be worse.” I shrugged and stood up. “Do you want to come with me?  I could use the company.”

“To meet your mom?”

“Yeah.  If you have plans or don’t want to, that’s fine.”

“I don’t have to work so I don’t see why not.”

“Awesome. It’ll be an adventure.”

“So are we going right now?”

“Yep.  I need to go to Bo’s first and I want to go home to shower and change. You don’t mind walking do you?” I stood up and motioned for us to head towards the door. 

“Not at all, I walk most places anyway.”

Korra slipped on some running shoes and threw her wallet and room key in the pocket of her baggy sweats.  Before we made it to the door my stomach growled loudly and Korra chuckled at me: remembering she’d gotten me coffee cake she handed it to me and I graciously stuffed my face and finished it right before we stepped out of the hotel’s double doors.

 “You don’t have a car?” I asked.

“No: Everywhere I go is only a mile or so away.  I also could never really grasp driving a car but I do have a motorcycle.  It’s _almost_ as fast as Naga, I used to take her everywhere.  I’ve always been better at riding things I can straddle.”

I stopped dead in my tracks and raised my eyebrows in amusement.  Despite her dark complexion, Korra’s cheeks burned a bright red as she realized what she just said.  I figured she was mortified enough so I just cleared my throat and continued on like she didn’t just inadvertently admit that she’s a top.

“A motorcycle, huh? That’s so cool.”

Korra scratched the back of her head and took some deep breaths to get rid of her red cheeks as we continued to walk down the street. “You think everything about me is cool.”

“Who wouldn’t?  You’re so well rounded.”

“I’m glad someone thinks so.”

We made it to Bolin’s apartment, which was only 5 blocks away, and luckily he answered the door right away.  He was pleasantly surprised to see Korra, and launched into all of the ridiculous things they did last night.  Well, all he could remember: both of them had a little too much to drink.  Bo laughed about the destroyed bar that I had to pay for and poor Korra who didn’t even remember, felt horrible when she found out she’d taken part.  But in all honestly all she did was get water everywhere and poke a few holes in some walls, easily fixable with a a mop and a little plaster.  Bolin on the other hand pulled the floor up.

By the time we left my friend’s small apartment, Korra was almost cherry red from embarrassment.

“Tell me honestly.  How much of a jackass did I make of myself?”

“Honestly speaking: I wasn’t really around you too much to notice.  But all that I did see wasn’t that bad.”

“That isn’t comforting.”

“You kept your clothes on and you didn’t puke.  I’d say that’s a win.”

“That’s true.  I usually don’t drink so much.  Especially around a bunch of people I don’t know. Bolin is just so...persuasive.”

“Oh yeah, that sounds like him.  I’ll have to tell you about the year we turned 21 some time.  It was quite the shit show.”

“Shit show?”

“Mhm.  Being wasted enough to put on a very entertaining performance for anyone sober enough to remember it.”

“Sounds... _entertaining_.”

“Trust me, it is.  If you stick around long enough I’m sure Bo will have you participating.”

“I’m a little terrified of that.” The darker girl laughed as we continued down the street.  “Where do you live anyway?  Close to the hotel?”

“Actually, I live at the hotel.”

“You really are a workaholic.”

“No.” I snorted. “It’s just convenient.”

“So you stay in the presidential suite I’m assuming.”

“Wrong again.  I live in the penthouse.”

“There’s no penthouse.”

“You sure about that?” I asked: glaring through squinted eyes.

“Uhh. Yes? I mean I never heard of it.”

“That’s because there’s only one and it isn’t for rent.  It’s where I’ve lived since I got this job.”

“Wow.  You get a penthouse as a manager? And I’m sure you get paid well.  Maybe I should go after your job.”

“Really?  You want it?”

“Well I want the benefits: I don’t know the first thing about doing what you do.”

“It’s simple.  Keep the guests, the owner, and corporate happy.  In that order.”

“That’s a lot of people.  Maybe you can train me and then be my reference for another hotel.”

“Sure.  As long as I get to see your bending.”

“Oh crap.  I completely forgot.  Bo and I were supposed to go to the park to spar today.  I’ll see if he’s still up for it.”

As Korra pulled out her phone and started texting, we made it back to Double Helix and headed towards the elevator.  We got in and, having lost my key card, I stuck a small key into the key hole that was in every elevator that seemed to be attached to nothing.  After turning it, I pushed a code into the keypad by the emergency phone and we made our journey to the top floor.

“Wow.  Secret keys and codes.  Should I call you James Bond?”

I simply laughed and explained. “I have a key card that I can swipe that automatically takes me up, but I don’t have it with me.  Long complicated spy way it is.”

“You know: you need a key card to get to any floor, but us ground floor people are left to fend for ourselves.  What’s that about?”

“I honestly never thought about it.  I’ll look into it and get back to you.”

The magic flying box came to a halt and opened to an entry way directly in front of a gold framed door.  It was just paint, but was still fancier than it needed to be.  Grandma Sato went overboard.  She oversaw the building of this place and she too lived here once upon a time. 

“Why do I feel like I’m about to walk into the royal palace?”

“Because you kind of are.  The person that lived here before me was very ostentatious.”

For some reason, the spare key didn’t work as well as the original so it took a minute to get into my home.  But when I did, Korra walked in and stared slack jawed.  It was a big place.  There were book shelves lining the walls, a mahogany table in the dining area under a chandelier, a large black leather couch in the living area and a TV bigger than necessary.

“Most of this stuff was already here.  I brought my bed and the books on the bookshelves. The TV is mine too, I spend lazy days watching Netflix or cable and I like having the movie theatre experience.”

“Holy crap.  Asami this is amazing!  Do you watch boxing?  The definition would be incredible on this thing!”

“Actually I don’t.  But you can feel free to watch whatever you want while I shower and change.”

I threw the remote at Korra and mentioned that the one remote controls everything, including the surround sound.  She flopped on the couch with the largest kid grin.

“I’ll be out in 30 minutes.” I said, but it fell on deaf ears.

 

What was supposed to be a half an hour turned into a full one.  I couldn’t help but want to look good before seeing my mother.  It was a nasty habit that I just couldn’t get rid of.  I went with a burgundy theme with gray undertones.  A burgundy hair band held my hair back and I put on full makeup.  When I walked back out into the living area Korra was yelling at the TV, she was watching some kind of fight.

“Enjoying yourself I see.”  I chirped from behind the darker girl.

“I forgot this fight was on today and you have the MMA package, did you know that?” She stated, not once tearing her eyes away from the large screen.

“I didn’t know.  I just pay for every channel so I’ll always have something to watch.”

“Ha.  I usually just illegally stream to my laptop.” As soon as she realized what she said, Korra slapped a hand over her forehead. “There I go again, putting my foot in my mouth.”

I bit my lower lip in amusement. “You know; I can teach you how to illegally stream to your TV.”

The darker girl jerked her head around at that statement: her eyes nearly bulging out of her head.  “Really? – Whoa, wow.  You look – wow.   Should I go change? I feel under dressed.”

“Thank you.” I started. “And no.  That isn’t necessary, I just…my relationship with my mother is-weird I guess. So I always -” I cut myself off and sighed.  I didn’t know why I started to ramble like that.

“I get it.  You want her to be proud of you and acknowledge your success.”

It was surprising how well Korra picked up on that.  It was true: there was a huge part of my heart that ached for my mother’s approval.  Seems like it’ll never happen though.

“So um.  Are you ready now or do you want to finish watching your fight?”

“Oh um.  We can go now, I’ll watch this later.”

“Okay. Do you want me to record it for you?”

“You mean I can come back?”

“Of course you can.”

I Picked up the remote and pressed the little R in the bottom right hand corner.  After making sure it was recording, I went in search for my spare car keys.  I smirked as I picked up the key to one of my fancy cars.  Not the fanciest of my collection but definitely top 3.

We walked down to the parking lot in silence.  I kept my cars where the service trucks were kept to avoid tampering since they often just sat in the same place.   In the very back corner was a covered car and I internally bounced with excitement at the look that was sure to take over Korra’s face.

“Would you do the honors?” I asked motioning to the covered vehicle.

“Oh.  Um sure, I guess.”

She moved to the front of the vehicle and whipped the cover off quickly.  I was thankful that it was still really clean and backed in to the parking space so the front was completely visible.

“Holy shit.” Korra gasped. “I didn’t think cars like this even existed!”

I smiled widely and unlocked the doors. “BMW silver i8 Coupe.  I just got her 5 months ago.”

“This must have cost an arm and a leg! Asami, this is crazy.  I’m afraid to touch it.”

It cost over 100 grand but I didn’t mention it, just opened the passenger butterfly door and moved to the driver’s side.

“What do I do with this thing?” Korra asked, motioning her head towards the large white cloth.

“Just throw it on the steps over there.  I don’t want that thing in my car.”

She nodded and did as I said before tentatively getting into the passenger seat.  She had a look around and refused to close the door so I did it with the remote control car key.  Of course she freaked out a little.

“I’m sorry.  I’ve just never been in anything this expensive.”

“That’s a lie.  You’ve been in the hotel, Dave and Busters, the building you went to get our breakfast.  All of those are hundreds of thousands.”

“You know what I mean.” She whined and I giggled before starting my vehicle and revving the engine.  Once out of the hotel’s parking structure, I took off onto the streets driving just a little faster than necessary.

“So um. How far away is your mom’s place?”

“35 minutes for the average driver…” I started.

“I take it you aren’t the average driver.  So how long for you?”

“20 minutes.  Give or take.  I like the thrill of a race against time.”  I switched gears as we merged onto the freeway and sped up considerably.

“I don’t know if I’m more turned on or scared right now.”

It was barely audible but there was no mistaking those words. I peaked over at Korra momentarily and she was staring straight ahead with reddened cheeks. “Did I really just say that out loud?” She whispered.

“You did.”

“I am so sorry.  I don’t know what’s wrong with me today.  It’s like I have diarrhea of the mouth and I keep saying all the wrong things.”

“Don’t worry about it.  I take it as a compliment.”

The thrill of the road and Korra’s slip of the tongue raised my spirits considerably.  She was so different from anyone else I’ve ever met or dated.  People I’ve gone out with are completely put together, smooth, dashing, and just a little stuck up.  But Korra…adorable, shy, dorky, kind hearted, humble Korra.  She made my heart swell and it was exciting.  This was only our fourth encounter but each one had been better than the last.  Talking to her was the easiest thing in the world.

“Soooo.” Korra said, breaking the awkward silence (made completely awkward by her). “You…like cars?”

I laughed fully and nodded my head. “I love cars, well driving them.  I know very little about what’s under the hood.  Just enough to take good care of it.  In another life I think I’d like to be a mechanic or an engineer.  Something about machinery just really fascinates me.”

“But you like what you do now, right?”

“It has its perks.”

“Ah. So it doesn’t suck but it isn’t fulfilling: or maybe it isn’t what you’ve always dreamt of doing.”

There she goes again, reading me like an open book.

“More or less.”

“Why not do something else?  I mean you’re just in your mid 20s.”

“It isn’t that simple.” I stated flatly.  “Maybe one day I can, but not yet. Not for a while.”

“Oh…”

We weren’t too far away now, and we rode the rest of the way in silence.  I noticed Korra was playing with her fingers a lot: eyes glued to her lap. Something must have been running through her mind.

After parking in the driveway we approached the front door and I couldn’t help but feel a little nostalgic.  I haven’t been to this house in almost 6 years, and I’ve only visited a handful of times since first going off to college.  It was small and a light yellow color: wind chimes hung from the edges of the roof and there were countless flower pots full of orchids and other flowers.  I didn’t know why but I was nervous.  No use in holding off any longer so I rang the door bell and bounced from foot to foot.

“Are you alright?” Korra asked. “You’re a little jumpy”

“I just haven’t seen her in a while.”

“How long is a while?”

Before I could answer, the door swung open and there she stood.  Yasuko Sato, looking as flashy as ever even wearing nothing but a bathrobe.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen her without her hair in a perfect chopstick bun up do or without a full face of makeup.

“Asami, dear.  I haven’t seen you in years, looks like you’ve gained quite a bit of weight.” She stated.  “What brings you by?”

“Hello, Mother.  Did someone bring a purse here earlier?”

“As a matter of fact, yes.”

“Great…” I paused waiting for my belongings to be retrieved, but my mom just stood there. “Can I…have them?...Please?”

“You never come to see me, the only times you ever talk to me over the phone is to let me know that you’re alive, and you aren’t even going to come inside?  I thought I raised you better than that.”

The older woman went into the house, leaving the door open.  When she didn’t return right away, I assumed she wanted me to come in.  I glanced at Korra and she looked stunned at the brief interaction.

“I- uh.  We have to go in.”

“I’m sorry, what do you mean ‘we’ have to go in? Asami, your mom didn’t even acknowledge my presence, I can’t go in her house.  I’ll wait in the car.”

“Well technically my name is on the deed, so it’s _my_ house.”

Korra didn’t see too amused by my technicalities.

“It’ll only take a few minutes, please don’t leave me alone with her.” I pouted.

“Oh come on, that isn’t fair.  You can’t make a polar bear puppy dog face at me, I have Naga, that’s a weakness of mine.”

This only made me pout more.  When the darker girl sighed and dropped her head I knew I had won.

“Fine.  I’ll go in with you, but you owe me big.”

“Thank you thank you thank you!” I said in relief.  I ushered Korra in first and shut the door behind me after I crossed the threshold.

“I see you finally decided to come in.  Took you long enough.”

I rolled my eyes and ignored the snipe behind the older woman’s tone.

“Mom, this is my friend Korra.” I gestured to the girl standing awkwardly beside me.  “She’s running errands with me today.”

“Friend, huh?  I like this one Asami, she’s cute.  Cuter than the last one, but then again I never actually meet your girlfriends in person, I only see the pictures you send me.”

“Can we not do this, please?”

“Do what, dear? I’m simply catching up and inquiring about your life.  I gave your girlfriend a compliment, did I not?”

“Yes, but we aren’t dating.  She really is just a friend.”

My mother turned to Korra and looked her up and down before asking. “Is this true? You aren’t dating my daughter?”

“Uh, No ma’am.  Just friends.”

“Perhaps you should reconsider.  My daughter isn’t getting any younger, it’s about time she’s settled down with a nice girl.  You seem to be well mannered.”

“Mom!” I shrieked. “Just stop.  I didn’t come here to get criticized and belittled.  I came for my things.  Can you just go and get them?!”

I didn’t mean to get so worked up, but it always seemed to happen when I talked to my mother.  Even over the phone she was just so infuriating.  It made my blood boil.

“Very well, dear.” The older woman said and retreated towards the back of the house.

“Are you ok?” Korra asked.  It was the second time she’s asked that in that past 10 minutes.

“I’ll be fine.  You can go to the car now if you want.  She’s probably going to ask for money, and she hates begging in front of strangers.”

“Are you sure?  I can stay if you need me to.”

“No, don’t worry about it.”  I fished the key out of my coat pocket and handed it to Korra.  I ushered her out the door right before my mother came back, purse in hand.

“Where’s your friend going?”

“Korra is waiting in the car. You made her uncomfortable.”

“You kids are so sensitive these days.”

“Or maybe you’re just rude.  Did you ever think of that?”

I grabbed my bag out of her hand and searched the inside, making sure all of my belongings were present.  Once satisfied, I walked to the front door and stepped outside.  I saw Korra standing by the passenger side of the i8 just staring down at the key.  I’d forgotten to tell her how it works and she had the cutest look on her face trying to figure it out.

“Asami?” I heard from behind me.

I turned around and my mother’s demeanor had changed from confident and snooty to sad and helpless.  It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it but I knew that look. 

“I hate to ask but...Um.” she started, and I rolled my eyes because I decided to put her out of her misery and not make her even ask.

“How much do you need?”

“Well… I have a few bills to pay off…”

“Ok.” I pulled my checkbook and a pen out of my purse.  I thought about how much she might need and began scribbling across the small rectangular piece of paper. “I’m assuming you need food too.” I said and gave her the check. “Just try not to spend it all in one place ok?”

“I won’t.  And I promise this is the last time.”

“No it isn’t.” I grumbled and walked away.

 

 

“So I was going to make a bad joke about you being too trustworthy and me being able to steal your car.  But then I realized that I told you I couldn’t drive, and then I couldn’t even figure out how to get the stupid door open.”

I laughed out loud as I continued driving down the freeway.  I had been a little down since the visit and Korra was succeeding in cheering me up.

“Hey, I’m sorry about that whole thing.  Maybe I should have taken Bolin instead.  He at least would have known what he was getting into.”

“Well he seemed like he’d rather sleep than step outside in the daylight.  I didn’t mind.” Korra paused, as if she was contemplating adding the next part. “Can I ask you something? It might be a little personal.”

“You can ask, but I can’t guarantee I’ll give you an answer.”

“Fair enough.” She said. “What’s up with your mom?”

I quirked an eyebrow as if to ask her to be more specific.

“She was kind of…I don’t know.”

“Judgmental and bitchy?”

“I wouldn’t say bitchy.”

“Eh, I would.”

“Ok.” She laughed awkwardly. “All the backhanded remarks and that little comment about your weight?”

“Well she isn’t wrong, I have gained weight.  I don’t workout at all and I haven’t exactly been pristine with my eating choices lately.”

“Even so.  It isn’t like you’re over weight or chubby.  Not even close.  There wasn’t a need to say anything.  And don’t think I missed the way she was constantly looking both you and me up and down.”

“Look I know how she is.  When I was really young we didn’t have any money, but when I turned 12 my dad got successful and we were suddenly rich. We moved into a mansion, mom made new snobby friends and she was just different.  And then some things happened a few years later and we were suddenly stuck with that house.  Mom stayed the same.”

“I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be sorry.  I know she rubs people the wrong way, especially me.”

“So you gave her money?”

I nodded “Mhm”

“How much?...if you don’t mind me asking?”

“A lot…ten thousand.”

“TEN THOUSAND. You just have ten thousand bucks sitting in your bank account?!”

“I have a little more than that.” I smirked.

“Why are you so calm about this?! Asami you gave your mom ten thousand dollars!”

“Korra, do you realize this car cost One hundred and thirty thousand dollars?”

“Wh-oh my god.” The darker girl whispered. 

From her reactions I guessed she’d never had any friends with money to spare before.  If she thought this car was fancy and expensive I couldn’t wait to drive her around in the Rolls.  I chuckled to myself and drove with only the soft sounds of the radio as back noise for a couple minutes before Korra asked another question.

 

“So your mom thought we were…a couple?”

“She thinks any girl I come in contact with is my girlfriend.”

“Oh. So you’re…”

“Gay.  Yes.”

“Oh...Ok good to know.” She said blandly. 

“Are you ok with that?”

“Oh of course!  In the southern water tribe, we don’t really label sexuality.  We’re raised to believe that you marry the person you love, we don’t have gay, straight, or bi.  Of course you know some people prefer men, some prefer women, and some both but it wasn’t anything we put thought into. To me, preferences in romantic partners is comparable to preference in what type of food you like.  You like what you like.”

“That’s amazing.  In this country it’s kind of a big deal.”

“I know.  When I moved here it was a huge shock, I didn’t understand it at all.  Labels are so important here, it’s like I have to walk on eggshells.  One of the guys I train, his name is Wu, and he freaked out because I said something that didn’t specifically identify him as gay.  That’s why I was asking, I wanted to know so I didn’t offend you.”

“I appreciate that, thank you.  People are pretty fixed on the labels. We have an LGBT community and then subsets of that community.”

“That’s another thing I don’t get.  People are just people: why do we have to be separate at all?”

“It’s hard for you here isn’t it?” I asked.

“Sometimes” she sighed.  “You know I didn’t even know judging based on skin color was even a thing until I experienced it first hand.  It blew me away.”

My heart clenched at hearing that.  Of course I knew that racism was a huge issue in the past and still is one.  But it was different for someone that didn’t even know it was coming.  Korra’s eyes looked so sad at the thought of it.  I couldn’t help but wonder why she stuck around if it was so different.

“I’m so sorry you have to go through that.  It’s stupid to think any less of a person based on their outer appearance.”

This made her perk up and smile a little.  Maybe she thought that I thought her beneath me: and that just made me angry.  She was forced to be cautious and assume the worst because of an encounter with some idiot…or maybe more than one.  There was no telling how often she experienced this type of thing.

“Don’t apologize.  It doesn’t make me upset anymore.  I’m just going to keep being me and prove that I’m not what they think I am.”

“If anyone can do it it’s you.” I smiled.

Once I got my car back into it’s space and recovered it, I invited Korra back up to my penthouse to finish watching her fight.  She gladly accepted the invitation and while she was on the couch yelling at the fighters I ordered some Chinese thinking she might be hungry, because I sure as hell was.

Korra tried to explain the techniques being used and why they worked but all I really got from it is “hit – don’t get hit” and she laughed at how simply I it broke down.

Just as we were about to start eating Korra’s phone started ringing, and she yanked it out of her pocket frowning at whoever’s name was on the caller ID.

“Hello?” she answered. “Yes, this is Korra.”

Her blue eyes lit up but there was also a bit a worry behind them. “What do you mean he isn’t answering?” She began biting her nails. “Two weeks?! Are you kidding me? Why didn’t you me call sooner?” I stared on, wondering what was happening, I was concerned.  “Yes, Yes of course. How’s right now?”

“Ok. Tomorrow morning?...Great, see you then.”

Korra hung up the phone and took a deep breath.

“Are you alright? What was that about?”

“I just got some news.” She said with a smile stretched from ear to ear.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said updates on Mondays: I have no excuse, i'm just terrible at keeping to schedules. I'm sorry.  
> I've deleted 'Double Helix' because I couldn't stand to look at it anymore lol. 
> 
> So....
> 
> 1\. What do you think is Yasuko's deal?  
> 2\. What do you think of Korra and Asami's budding relationship?  
> 3\. What do you think of Asami in general?


	4. Take Me For a Ride On Your Fancy Steed

“So what’s the plan again?”

“I’m just going to pick her up.” Korra responded as she threw a hoodie over her head.  I caught her in the lobby Monday morning as she was leaving.

“You can do that?”

“She’s my polar bear dog.  Of course I can.”

“Ok and then where are you going to put her?”

“Well I was kind of hoping since I knew the manager…maybe she could pull some strings?”

“You want me to allow your polar bear dog to stay in your room with you?  An 8-foot-tall, 900 pound, part bear, part dog….”

 

Korra looked so desperate and excited and hopeful all at the same time.  I wanted nothing more than to give her what she wanted but this was an impossible request.  I was more than happy that Korra was getting Naga back but there wasn’t anywhere to put her.  None of the rooms had enough space, the other guests would most certainly complain…

 

“I take that as a no?” Korra asked, looking like she had lost Naga all over again.

“I really want to say yes.  And maybe if she were smaller…but honestly there just isn’t room for her.”

“There isn’t room for who?” Bolin entered, slightly wet from the drizzle of rain.

“Naga.” Korra answered. “The vet called me and I can go get her now but-“

“But there’s just no room for her?” He asked, mimicking my words.  We both nodded and he put his fist under his chin.

“What are you thinking ab-“ I started but was interrupted by a single finger covering my lips.

“Shh!”

“Bo, what-“

“I said shush!”

I furrowed my brows and looked to Korra who just shrugged.  We waited for him to finish thinking, it seemed like it took forever for the light bulb in his head to go off.  He clapped his hands together and grinned widely.

“Mako!”

“Mako?” I asked.

“Yeah!  Unlike us, Mako lives in an actual home.” Bolin answered.  I didn’t miss the tone of his statement.

“That may be true, but Mako is almost 29 and we’re only 25.  He’s an old man, he’s supposed to live in a house.”

“Mhm, but you’re loaded so you have no excuse, Sato.”  I wanted to protest but Bolin continued before I could.   “A grassy backyard is good for a polar bear dog, right, Korra?”

“Well yeah.” The blue eyed girl answered apprehensively. “But I can’t ask a stranger to let my half a ton pound pet stay at his house.”

“You don’t have to.  I’m going to ask my big brother to do me a favor.”

“Are you sure?”

“Completely.  It’s been really rainy lately, she wont get sick will she?”

“Uh, no.  She’s made for the snow.  Rain is nothing.”

“Great! Then it’s settled.  You go get the pretty poochie, I’ll text you Mako’s address.”

“Thank you so much!  I’ll figure out how to pay you back!” Korra exclaimed as she threw her arms around the shorter boy.  I made a mental note to tease him about both me and Korra being taller than him.

“Well?” I asked. “What are you waiting for?! Go get your baby!”

Korra grinned and ran out the front door.

“Someone’s excited.” Bolin said sarcastically.

“You should send her that address.  At the rate she’s running she’ll get there in no time.”

“Or…maybe…not.”  Bolin pointed towards the door and my eyes quickly followed.  Korra ran back in at full speed towards us.

“Korra, what are you-“ I started but couldn’t finish as a hand was wrapped around my wrist and I was being dragged out the door.  I yelped as my feet struggled to catch up with my upper body. Thankfully I had chosen to wear flat boots and pants instead of heels and a skirt.  I didn’t have anything on me: no phone, no wallet, no keys.  Everything was in my office.

“Ok, then.  I guess I’ll see you later!” Bolin yelled as we left the building.

 

“Come on, slow poke!” The darker girl called out.

“Korra!  I can’t run that fast!”

We slowed to a walk and I was pathetically trying to catch my breath while Korra wasn’t winded at all.

“How far did we run? Like half a mile?”

“More like a block.” Korra snorted.

“Close enough.”

“Not really, but I’ll let it slide this time.”

“How generous of you.” I laughed. “So I guess I’m taking the morning off.”

“Crap.  I didn’t even think of that.  Do you want to go back?”

“It’s fine.  They managed two months without me, what’s an hour or two?”

“Perfect.  Because I feel like if I met your mom, you should meet Naga.”

“Oh, because that’s the same thing.”

“She’s just as important to me as any of my family.  Naga’s the sister I always wanted.”

“So you’re an only child?”

“No, I have a sister.  She hates me though.”

“I’m sure that isn’t true…”

“It is.  We fought a lot as kids and I thought it was just regular sibling banter.  We grew up and I got over it, but Kayla didn’t.  She’ll try to act nice but even my parents can sense the animosity radiating off of her.  You’d think I did something.”

“And you have no clue why she feels that way?”

“I’m two years older, so everything she does is compared to me.  But she’s more successful than I am now so I don’t get it at all.”

“I’d love to shed some light for you but I don’t have any siblings.”

“I’m not too worried.  I always ask her what her deal is, maybe one day she’ll actually tell me.”

“Fingers crossed.” I said and glanced down at my feet as we continued down the sidewalk.  I liked being able to splash my feet in the little puddles left behind by the morning rain.

I could see Korra glancing at me from the corner of my eye.  She was hesitating.  It was a pattern I’d picked up on in the past 24 hours.  She would just look at me while she gathered the courage to ask me something personal.

“Can I ask you something?” she said quietly.

I forced a smile that didn’t reach my eyes. “You can ask me anything you want but I can’t –“

“-Guarantee an answer.  I know.”

This time my smile did reach my eyes, and I turned my head to look directly at Korra.  “Ask away.”

“Why are you sad?”

“What?”

“I’ve noticed….”

“Noticed what?”

“I can see pain in your eyes.  It’s always been there but today it’s worse.”

“You know.” I started. “It’s amazing how well you can read me.  Most people don’t notice anything about me.  I’m a master of the poker face.  But with you it doesn’t work.”

“That’s funny because I’m generally terrible at reading people.”

“Never would have guessed…”

“Are you avoiding the question because you don’t want to answer?”

“Yes and no. Another thing you’re good at is making me open up. So I don't want to talk about it but for some reason I feel like I should."

My feet were getting tired and I dreaded having to walk all the way back. “How much further?”

“A little over a mile.”

“Over a mile?!  Korra! I could have driven us.”

“You really can’t walk two miles?”

“I haven’t done anything active since high school.  I’ve had nearly a decade to turn into a blob of nothing but bones and feeble flesh.  I struggle to pick up a gallon of milk.”

“Alright, alright.  I get it.” Korra laughed.

I noticed a bench by the bus stop on the corner and breathed a sigh of relief.  “My feet are killing me.  Can we sit for a couple minutes?”

“Nope.” Korra said and she jumped in front of me, her back facing me. “Hop on.” She wiggled her hands toward me to indicate she’d catch my legs.

“Korra…don’t you think we’re a little too old for piggy backs?”

“Absolutely not.  Get on.”

“People are going to stare.”

“If they stare it’ll be because they’re jealous that they aren’t getting a turn on the Korra Express.”

I stood for a moment longer contemplating.

“Come on, Sato! We don’t have all day!”

I rolled my eyes and placed my hands on the shorter girls shoulders before jumping up and wrapping my legs around Korra’s waist.  She held on to the back of my knees and I slipped my arms around her neck leaning forward.  My cheek brushed softly against hers and we stayed silent and unmoving for a moment too long.  Korra cleared her throat and took a deep breath. “You all set back there?”

“Yeah…I’m good.” I responded, and the darker girl started walking.

“Was this really necessary?  I can walk I just needed a minute.”

“You take your minute.  I’ll cover a little more ground.”

“How are you walking faster while carrying me right now?”

“I was walking slow for you.  And you aren’t heavy, I lift more than twice your weight every day.”

“You realize you’re going to have to carry me everywhere now, right?”

“Works for me. You know I was going to buy a weight vest, but I don’t think that’s necessary anymore.”

“Oh really?” I giggled.

“Yeah.  I could just run stairs with you on my back.  And as a bonus I’d have someone to talk to.”

“You can’t talk while running up stairs, Korra.”

“Challenge accepted.”  She responded, and I could hear the grin in her voice.

 

The rest of the way we argued about whether or not what I said was actually a challenge of her strength, which it wasn’t, at least from my end.  But Korra seemed hell bent on proving me wrong so she decided it was going to happen.  I’ve dismissed the whole thing.

The blue eyed girl finally sat me down in front of a dark blue building decorated with white bubbles called ‘Puppy Suds’. Once inside, Korra told the receptionist she was there to pick up her polar bear dog and the woman went to the back to alert the on call doctor.

“Korra!  It’s good to see you!” Said the vet. 

“Hey, Dr. Janson.”  She smiled and turned around to look at me. “This is my friend, Asami.”

“Just call me, Rose.  The whole ‘doctor’ thing is so formal.”  The woman said.  “Come on back, you two.”

As Korra and Rose began talking about Naga I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic looking at the vet’s face.  Her skin was dark, just a tad lighter than Korra’s. Her mouth was small, but her lips still full. What really struck was those eyes.  A piercing crystal blue.  Sharp and intimidating but warm and familiar.

Rose reminded me of someone I loved a long time ago.  Someone I still love…Someone I’ll always love.  And it could be a coincidence or it could be the universe trying to mess with me, but running into someone that has an almost identical face to Yue at this time of the year made the pain in my gut just a bit more excruciating. 

“-other than that she’s perfectly fine.”

“Thank you so much, Rose.”

“It’s no problem, Korra.  You can take her home now.  If you have any concerns you have my number.”

Somewhere in the back of my mind I caught the end of their brief conversation.  Coming out of my thoughts I noticed we were outside, not even realizing how far we’d walked or where.  Dr. Rose approached me and stuck her hand in front of my torso.  It took me a little too long to realize she wanted me to shake it, and it took me even longer to accept the gesture.  I still did, as not to appear rude.  Though it was already made awkward by my delayed reaction.

“It was nice meeting you, Asami.”

“Uh, you too.” I croaked out.

The vet went back inside and Korra looked at me with those skeptical eyes again.

“So, where is she?  I can’t imagine an animal as big as Naga could hide very easily.”

Korra swiveled her body around a bit as to gesture behind her, and sure enough a large fluffy white ball was curled up and leaning against a fence.  And I must really be losing it, because how could you possibly miss that?

“I thought you’d be all over her by now.” I stated

“You really missed the part when we came out here and I was instantly tackled and covered in slobber?”

“Oh…I guess I did…”

“…Ok…I’m going to skip asking you a question that I may not get an answer to, and just put it out there that you can talk to me about whatever is bothering you.  If you want to vent, or a shoulder to cry on…judgment free, safe zone.”  The darker girl gestured to herself and gave me a reassuring look to which I only nodded.

“Now I want you to meet my other half.” Korra waved her hand and Naga stood up, towering over me. “Naga this is Asami.  Be nice….Asami this is Naga.  You be nice, too.”

I chuckled throatily before taking a tentative step forward.  “Can I pet her?”

“Yeah, of course.”

I took another two steps forward to really take in the creature and get the full experience.  Her fur was long and more of an off white color.  She had muscles rippling all over her body, and the most adorable puppy dog face.

“Well you are just gorgeous.” I cooed and slipped my hands up to scratch either side of Naga’s neck.  “And soft.” I added.  I moved my fingers up behind the polar bear dogs ears and they immediately perked up and she whimpered in approval.  Naga suddenly started bouncing on her front paws excitedly and before I realized it I was on my back under her crushing weight.  My face was licked mercilessly and I squealed while trying to squirm away.  I was thankful my makeup was waterproof.

“Naga! Down girl.” Korra commanded. “I told you to behave.”

After I was released, Korra helped me to my feet and helped me dust off my clothes.

“I’m so sorry!”

“It’s fine.  She’s sweet.”

“She only gets this excited when she really likes someone.”

“Ahh. So I’m in her good graces?”

“Most definitely.  Are you ready to go?”

“Yes.” I nodded.  Korra turned to Naga who was sitting quietly next to us and pointed. “What about you?  Ready to go home?”

The white haired beast started bouncing up and down on her front paws again and I flinched because her sights were set on me.  Naga craned her neck down and shoved her nose between my legs: I was lifted off the ground and slid onto the creature’s back.  I yelped as I held on and tried not to fall off.

“Wow, she really does like you.  She wants to take you home.”

“Well I’m flattered.  A pretty girl hasn’t offered to take me home in a long time.” I stated as I grabbed the reins attached to the brown saddle.

Korra stepped onto one of Naga’s paws and said “up” and she was lifted high enough to get onto her back.  Somehow I didn’t fall duing all of the maneuvering.

“I’m sure pretty girls want to take you home plenty.”

“You don’t know that.” I argued.  And Korra gave me a stern look that said she wasn’t buying it.  “Uhuh.” She grumbled. “Well are you going to turn around?  Or do you want to ride back facing me?”

“You really expect me to ride back on her?”

“Yes.  Now turn around and get in the saddle.”

“You want me to ride in front?!  I don’t know the first thing about-“

“I’ll be holding the reins and you’re safer if I hold onto you.  You’re a first timer – Can’t have you getting hurt.” She smirked.

“Alright.” I said simply and turned around.  I decided to play along because it was actually quite ridiculous but I wasn’t about to complain.  Korra wrapped one arm around my stomach and raveled the straps attached to the saddle around the wrist of her free arm a few times.

“Ready?”

“Yup.”

I felt Korra’s right leg lightly kick against Naga’s side and we started moving at a mild pace.  Two girls riding down the street on the back of a polar bear dog was a bit medieval, and we got the looks to confirm that it was just a little strange. 

I tried not to be too affected by the feel of Korra's body pressed into the back of mine.  I could smell the faint hints of her powder fresh deodorant and her pheromones. Even through my coat I could feel the heat radiating from her body.  I felt the urge to place my bare hands on her skin.

“Do you know where you’re going?” I asked as I noticed we were heading in the opposite direction of Mako’s house.

“Yep.  Little detour, if you don’t mind.”

“A detour?”

“Yeah.  You took me for a ride in your fancy car, I’ll take you for a ride on my fancy steed.”

“She’s not a horse.” I giggled.

“Close enough.” She shrugged.  Naga soon started trotting, forgoing the pace of a brisk walk that she kept before. It was an odd feeling: My body bouncing of it’s own accord.

“We’re close to the trail.  She’s excited to go for a run.” Korra explained.

“...You mentioned before that Naga was almost as fast your motorcycle.  How fast exactly can she go?”

“I think we should run first and then you can try to guess.”  She said as we came to a dirt trail.  The city was behind us and there was nothing but trees and dirt hills ahead.

“Let er rip, girl!” Korra called out before I could protest.  We took off and I was immediately pressed harder into Korra’s front.  If I weren’t being held I would surely have fallen off already and I thought that maybe sitting in this position actually _was_ the best place for me.  Everything whipped by us so fast, it was a blur.  My eyes watered from the intense wind and if my hair weren’t up in its usual bun it would be flowing wildly.

Korra whooped and hollered behind me. Clearly having the time of her life.  How she was able to hold both of us steady at the same time was beyond me.

\----------

 

“So?  How fast do you think she was going?”

“Well.  I’m estimating that Naga ran roughly 6 miles.  And since it took about 5 seconds I’m gonna guess 60 miles an hour.”

“That sounds about right.  She wasn’t even at top speed.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah.  She tops out at 80 with me and the saddle on her back.  I assume she can go faster weight free.”

“That’s crazy! And kind of cool.”

“Ahh.  The C word again.”

“Well if you don’t want me saying it then you shouldn’t tell me ‘cool’ things about you or Naga.” I said as I entered the hotel.  We’d been gone for about 3 hours.

“Hopeless.” Korra grumbled.  “Did you have fun at least?”

“I did….Once I got past the initial shock and learned the hard way to keep my mouth closed.”

“Ha. Sorry, I should have warned you about the bugs.”

“Hey guys!” Bolin shouted as he ran over to us.

“Were you waiting for us or something?” I asked.

“No.  I’m on break.  So how’d it go?”

“Great.  No hiccups.” Korra answered.

“Good.” The greeneyed boy huffed. “Oh. Korra, a girl came in looking for you about an hour ago.”

“A girl?  What was her name?”

“Uhhh. Luna…no maybe Laura…no no, definitely Lisa.”

“I don’t know anyone by those names.  What’d she look like?”

“Uh blonde hair, brown eyes, pink tattoo on her hand?”

“Oh. Lucy?”

“Yes! That’s it.” He snapped.

“That’s weird.” Korra said and furrowed her brows.  “I wonder how she found me…Bo, where is she?”

“I don’t know.  We couldn’t give her your cell or room number.  She could have been crazy for all we know.  And why couldn’t she just call you?”

“Probably because she doesn’t own a phone and therefore doesn’t have my number.”

“Who doesn’t own a phone?” I asked incredulously.

“Lucy comes from a place where technology basically doesn’t exist.  I think there’s one computer in her entire town.”

“Wow.”

“I know it sounds like the dark ages but it’s actually really nice there.” Korra rushed out. “I’m sorry to cut this short but I’ve gotta find her.”

“How ya gonna do that if she doesn’t have a phone?” Bolin asked.

“Because I know where to look.  I’ll see you guys later ok?”  The darker girl walked out with her hands in her pockets and it was weeks before I saw her again.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I've been gone for so long. I was having a midlife crisis. It's over now (I hope).
> 
> This was the last "developmental" chapter. I'm gonna get the ball rolling next chapter.  
> To those of you still reading this story. Thank you for putting up with me.

**Author's Note:**

> What do you think of the rewrite? Is it better? Worse? The same?


End file.
